Driver in I-78 wreck that pinned passenger was fugitive, police say

Blake Druzba, Contributed photo

A car ran into the rear of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 78 in Weisenberg Township on Friday night. A passenger was injured seriously when his legs were pinned inside the car. The driver is suspected of driving under the influence of a drug, state police said.

A car ran into the rear of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 78 in Weisenberg Township on Friday night. A passenger was injured seriously when his legs were pinned inside the car. The driver is suspected of driving under the influence of a drug, state police said. (Blake Druzba, Contributed photo)

The driver of a car that hit a tractor-trailer Friday night on Interstate 78 was arrested on a robbery warrant and on suspicion of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, according to state police at Fogelsville.

Harson Kenneth Benton-Lowe, 37, of Virginia, was westbound in Weisenberg Township shortly after 11 p.m. when his car reportedly swerved from the left lane into the right lane and hit the driver's side rear end of the tractor-trailer. The car was trapped underneath the truck.

Benton-Lowe's passenger, who was pinned inside the car for about 40 minutes, was treated for serious injuries at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. His identity and condition were not available. The truck driver was not identified.

Police said Benton-Lowe was found to be in possession of marijuana and a prohibited weapon, metal knuckles. He is also wanted by police in Raeford, N.C., for robbery with a dangerous weapon, police said.

Benton-Lowe was arraigned Saturday before District Judge David M. Howells Jr. and was being held under $20,000 bail, according to court records.